Connecting young people with local news

Greetings from Florida, where API’s first Local News Summit of the year is underway.

We’ve gathered more than 70 news and thought leaders from across the country to explore how news organizations can invite young people into civic life and help them forge lifelong connections with local news.

It’s an urgent topic: As the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism noted in a report this week on understanding young news audiences: “Meeting the needs of this segment is crucial, not just for the current stability of the journalism industry, but also for the future of democratic societies as young individuals transition through adulthood.”

We, too, see a crucial connection between news engagement and civic participation among young people; it’s the organizing idea around which this summit is designed. News leaders can detect the places where young people are shaping their communities, as well as the barriers they’re hitting, then leverage that information to help them make deeper connections both with the news and with civic participation.

As with all API summits, the conversations here are thoughtful — and thought-provoking. We’ll share more in-depth takeaways in coming weeks so everyone can learn from them.

In the meantime, we want to thank the sponsors and supporters of this summit: the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA, the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Florida International University’s Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media, as well as our 2026 API Local News Summits Regional Champions: LOR Foundation (for the Mountain West) and Wallace House Center for Journalists (for the Great Lakes region).

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Resources for journalists covering this weekend’s protests

More than 3,100 events are planned this weekend to protest President Trump’s actions and policies, and organizers expect the No Kings events on Saturday to draw millions of people across the country, writes Sarah D. Wire for USA Today. In light of that, we’ve compiled some useful resources for journalists covering these events:

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Culture & Inclusion

>> No First Amendment for some immigrant journalists or sources, gov’t says (Freedom of the Press Foundation) 

Estefany Rodríguez, the Nashville reporter who was detained by ICE earlier this month, has argued that her detention was a violation of the First Amendment. In response, the government has “suggested that Rodríguez — and anyone the government asserts is an ‘unlawful alien’ — does not have any First Amendment rights at all,” writes Caitlin Vogus. The position has implications for all kinds of First Amendment cases, even where freedom of religion is involved, Vogus writes.

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> How AI is creeping into The New York Times (The Atlantic) 

Artificial intelligence has “already infiltrated prestigious media outlets and publishing houses,” writes Vauhini Vara. In opinion sections, in particular, she says “some of the most trusted publications in the United States” have published articles that appear to include undisclosed AI-generated text. She also offers some solutions for publications and AI companies to prevent the problem.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Local journalism helps communities solve problems, but heartland newsrooms are disappearing (Heartland Forward) 

The gap between journalism “haves and have nots” is deepening across the heartland, which refers to 20 states in the middle of the country, writes Warwick Sabin, the founding president and CEO of Deep South Today. “The heartland’s challenges are real and urgent, spanning economic transition, workforce development and health care access,” he writes. But he also argues there is great potential for local news in the region given its size and economic importance.

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What else you need to know

🌲 Wisconsin Watch launches Northeast News to strengthen local journalism in northeast Wisconsin (Wisconsin Watch)

📥 Times Union’s Capitol Confidential newsletter finds its path to profitability (INMA)

🫱 To successfully raise major gifts, first consider your community engagement efforts (Lenfest Institute for Journalism)

🙏 Religious radio across America: 25% of all AM/FM radio stations in the U.S. have a faith focus (Pew Research Center)

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Weekend reads

+ Listen/Watch: Steve Grove on AI, building trust and reinventing the Minnesota Star Tribune (Medill State of Local News Podcast with Tim Franklin)

+ CNN’s ‘podcast look’ and the slow death of cable news (The New Yorker)

+ Award-winning work and what it demonstrates about journalism (Dick Tofel’s Second Rough Draft)

+ Why I decided to share my cancer surgery with Times readers (The New York Times)